Waterford — Police said they are investigating an attempted theft of a catalytic converter from a car Saturday afternoon in the Lowe's parking lot.

No arrests have been made, but police are continuing to investigate and have been in contact with law enforcement around the state, said Police Chief Marc Balestracci.

"We do have reason to believe that the same group has done this in other parts of the state," Balestracci said.

Overall, communities in Connecticut are facing catalytic converter thefts, said Balestracci. The catalytic converters have precious metals inside them and can be sold for as much as $250 but buyers such as junkyards can sell individual metals for more.

Catalytic converter thefts are happening nationwide, with the National Insurance Crime Bureau reporting "that the average monthly thefts across the nation has soared to 1,203 in 2020. There were 282 a month in 2019," according to the Associated Press.

In the Saturday incident in Waterford, Balestracci said the victim came out of the store and saw people around his Honda Accord. When the victim got closer, he realized that his car was jacked up.

Balestracci said the victim challenged the people and they made a verbal threat before fleeing in a Honda Accord. He said the attempted theft of the victim's catalytic converter was unsuccessful.

Balestracci said several people called dispatch around 2:47 p.m. Saturday to report catalytic converters being cut out of Honda Accords. The suspects also were driving a Honda Accord, so it's unclear if there was confusion about the number of vehicles involved.

Police ran the plate of the vehicle that the suspects were driving and found it was stolen out of the local area, he said. The suspects are described as three or four males wearing ski masks.

Waterford police are stepping up patrols of commercial parking areas, Balestracci said.

Police have had a few cases in the late evening or early morning, but this one stood out because it was in a busy parking lot in broad daylight, he said.

Waterford police posted on social media about the incident to raise awareness, he said. If people witness a catalytic converter being stolen, they should call police but shouldn't try to intervene.

"We don’t want people putting themselves in dangerous situations," he said.

The issue of catalytic converter thefts is getting the attention of Connecticut legislators. CT News Junkie reported that the General Assembly's Public Safety Committee recently approved a bill to "prohibit vehicle recyclers from receiving catalytic converters that are not attached to a vehicle and require a VIN to be etched into any converter they sell."

At one time Boyd's Used Auto Parts Inc. in Norwich used to buy catalytic converters as long as there was identification and proof of where the sellers had got them from, but the auto parts store no longer buys them, said President Peter Valin.

"Now, it's way too complicated," he said.

Valin said the auto parts store don't want to take the chance that they could be stolen, so it no longer buys or sells them.

k.drelich@theday.com